Some questions about seedlings/seedling stage

[mgjscdhl]

I'm getting ready for a grow. I already tried one as a clone but
there are new questions and some things I hadn't done with the
clone vs. seeds.

First, when do I start adjusting ph? I've heard posts, and peticularly
some videos/guides saying they used distilled water for popping the seeds.
But how long after that can I start adjusting ph? Both well water, and distilled (in
my experience have had ph of around 8.3-8.5ph. -- my thoughts were every 2nd watering to drop
the ph by around 0.5ph until its to the desired amount.

Is it ok to water more often if I'm using a heating pad? I have a controlable heating pad
for the propogation tray. Most places have said the soil needed to be a few degrees warmer
than surrounding air.. so will that dry out the peat faster and require more water?

Should I be strict on feeding schedule (eg. no ferts for several weeks) or can I give it a minimal
feed if leaves show some yellow?


Thanks for the help. I know I can start soon if I understand just a little more about this.

mgjschdl

 

[Chem&M]

Here's what I have found easiest.

1. Throw seeds into distilled water until taproot shows.

2. Put in Rapid Rooter root side down about 1/8 inch. Tear off a tiny piece of the Rooter itself and cover the hole lightly.

3. Cover with dome and wait until time to transplant.


I don't start PH'ing the water I start giving them until I actually start really watering them, which is usually about 3 weeks after they have popped.

 

[NinjaCS]

distilled water should have a PH of around 7. Not sure what distilled water you are getting with that high of PH.

 

[mgjscdhl]

my experience distilled has been almost exactly the same ph as tap water (Around 8.0) and bottled spring water, but; it throws off the ph to 4.2-4.5ph with distilled AND the ppm is closer to 70 in the samples I tried (distilled). It seemed with choice of distilled, well water (which has hardwater) or spring water the spring was best choice.

again. my own experience. results may vary.

 

[SOTF420]

Distilled water has a ppm or zero or very close to 0 if it's actually distilled, and it's of a neutral PH no matter where you live water is water.

Spring water is really too high in minerals and will lock-out other nutrients.

You should be adjusting any water you give your plants to the ideal range for nutrient uptake. For Hydro this is going to be lower in the 5.5 to 6.0 range with around 5.8 being ideal and soil a bit higher in the 6.3 to 6.8 range with 6.5 being ideal for maximum uptake of nutrients, some people go closer to 7 in soil with good results but it all depends on your mix and strain. Coir is perfect right around 5.8 to 6.0.

Once your seedlings start to grow the second to third set of real actual leaves (after the water leaves) it is time to start feeding them a very dilute balanced nutrient of around 200 - 300 ppm. I would suggest using something like the GH Flora Series in a basic 1/1/1 ratio.

When plants become bigger and start to actively vegetate & branch you can bump them up to 400 -600 ppm or so, for flowering the levels can go quite high but I have great results in the 800 to 1200 ppm range with the higher ppm peak during mid flower and the lower during start and before flushing for 10 days with pure clean water. I have went as high as 1500 - 1600 ppm with fast growing strains under bright intense light with CO2 and had very good results, some people go even higher it all depends on your strain, grow set-up, & plant health.

I would suggest you start a grow thread and post step by step and allow members here to give you helpful advice regarding it to hopefully help bring you healthy fruitfull harvest results.

 

[mgjscdhl]

I was kind of shocked myself but distilled available locally was virtually the same ph (8.4-8.5) as other sources (well, spring, brita), and around 70-100ppm. I also, perhaps, made a bad choice in fertilizers because it'll cause distilled water to drop the ph into the 4.2-4.5 range.
If it helps its mostly a peat mix with perlite and some dolomite lime. I haven't yet bought some castings which I think will help once its transplanted. I haven't picked a strain but it should be a mostly indica and probably easiest to grow.

That does give me a good idea what the ppm would/should be. Are those for chemical fertilizers or for organics? Or are those the same?

I'll probably post a journal soon. If I can't get the seeds by then I may be able to get a white russian clone (or clones) from same medical grower as my first grow. I hope its sooner but by the end of the month. I'll be happy to hear feedback as I go and hopefully have some success the second time around

 

[SOTF420]

70 - 100 ppm is NOT distilled. It may say distilled but it's not with that high of a ppm. Are you sure it's not spring water dude, does the label say it has added minerals for taste?

Distilled should be 0 ppm or close to it. You can buy an under-sink RO system at Home Depot for like $200 and have clean water whenever you need it.

 

[!!!]

Any water you ever give the plants needs to be pH adjusted. You also don't have to drop it slowly. Just adjust it to the correct pH and give it to them.

I don't agree that 5.5-6.0 is ideal for hydro. That's on the high end. All my issues stopped when I began to lower the pH to 5.2. The charts you see online depicting nutrient uptake at various pH levels are deprecated.

 

[mgjscdhl]

I just don't have the funds to pay for that type of system right now. I'm running a simple cfl grow right now, and given seeds. That distilled was also the one with LEAST ppm overall. I tested 3 sources of water besides well, and two were "distilled".

Directly from label, "Steam Distilled Water 4L - Ozonated, Disolved Mineral Salts 0ppm / Floride Ions 0ppm". I calibrated the meters a few months back also, my second meter died last night so I can't try it with that one (hanna)

 

[SOTF420]

!!! is correct that some people run a lower PH in hydro of 5.2 or 5.3 but it also can burn some strains so to be safe the higher PH points will work for just about everything in hydro and you still get the uptake you need across the various elements.

It might be your meter that is off, if it is distilled the max it should be is just a few ppm's.

 

[mgjscdhl]

its good to know I could drop it without too much hassles. It sounds like you haven't had problems dropping the ph in your own garden?

It very well could be meter but I had tested the water sources with two meters. As luck would have it though the more expensive one died last night while I was calibrating it and I wasted a solution packet. But I did calibrate the working one a few months back. I am sure about the ppm though because I had tested with both meters prior to one dying. I have one ppm pouch, but I need to buy another ph calibration solution.

 

[SOTF420]

Get a tester vial with PH drops as a back-up plan

 

[mgjscdhl]

I do have a ph/fert soil tester. I could easily get some strips as well but I found those to be harder because I have a bit of problems distiguishing colors. I could test it with my kit and post the picture, maybee someone with better eyes could tell me if my eyes were wrong

 

[SOTF420]

The drops work great for me most of the time. Put water in vial and add 2 drops compare color. If it is yellow with a hint or orange it's perfect for hydro, for soil yellow with a green tint is right on.

 

[daromank42]

i was told one time from a local hydro store said distilled water should never be used ever? was he wrong or did he mean never use it for actually watering your plants not for germanation the seed.

 

[SOTF420]

Everyone normally starts with the cleanest water possible if it's available. Some people will have cal/mag issues in some mediums if they are not using a nutrient that supplements it but in general clean water is far easier to work with since it is not loaded with unknown levels of other mineral salts that can lockout important nutes and cause build-ups. Tap water is also normally tainted in chlorine and other nasties which can really make your plants sick if it does not sit out and evaporate out first.

Distilled or RO water is all I have used for years and anytime I was lazy & used anything else I have had plant issues but it really all depends on your water quality where you live. Anything over 200 ppm from your tap and you will likely have problems unless you flush your grow medium constantly but even then it's hard to tell exactly what is in that water without a comprehensive water analysis.

 

[mgjscdhl]

I just used a, admitedly cheap, soil ph kit. It was 7.0ph-ish on an unaltered spring water.
I'm going to try finding some cheap ph strips in town. If the results are the same as the soil kit I'm buying some calibration solution. Meanwhile I'll calibrate/test the tds/ppm meter.

 

[mgjscdhl]

I was wondering about seedling stage. More about lighting. I am using part of a closet so I don't have alot of space. One of the solutions I saw was a direct wiring 15w t8 fluorescent light. I'm not entirely sure of the color range/spectrum (its not printed anywhere) but if I replaced the bulb with proper spectrum light is that enough wattage? The space provides for upto 18-19" without re-arranging anything.

thanks for posting, and the help

 

[Dankiam]

get t8 daylight bulbs with 65k lums thats what i run look at daromank42's albumb ull see the set up works like a charm got a 5 footer fits in my box and my dome fits in it as well can hold up to 25 seedlings/clones and about 15-20 vegged plants